The Centre for Creative Writing] and the School of English were delighted to host a book launch for Scarlett Thomas (Professor of Creative Writing and Contemporary Fiction]) this month. The hugely acclaimed author of such contemporary classics as Popco, the bestselling The End of Mr Y and, most recently, The Seed Collectors, Scarlett launched her first novel for children at the popular Creative Writing Reading Series].
Dragon’s Green] is the first in the Worldquake series, a world which lacks the internet (and creative writing), but it does have quests, riddles, magic, and dragons, as well as a School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange. And books are restored to their full power: ‘Some people think opening a book is a simple thing. It’s not. Most people don’t realise that you can get truly lost in a book. You can. Especially you.’
‘The most exciting debut in children’s fiction since Harry Potter. Immersive, engaging, original; delightful in its details (a bun shop that serves as a portal to Otherworld; a library of Last Editions; a Princess School in which girls are trained to be appealing to dragons); playful, warm and yet thrilling, too.’ Joanne Harris
Scarlett also launched the book with her publisher Canongate this month in London. You can also see her appearance on ‘Meet the Author]‘ on the BBC website.